Alcantarilha from the 50s and 60s is revealed in the «magic» of Mr. Rodrigues' photographs

José Guerreiro Rodrigues, born in Alcantarilha in 1921, was a true jack of all trades. But it is because of his talent as a self-taught photographer that there is now an exhibition at the Exhibition Centre and the Main Church of Alcantarilha, with previously unpublished images of his homeland, taken in the late 50s and 60s of the last century.

There are nearly 30 black and white photographs that portray the village before the advent of tourism, when Alcantarilha was an important agricultural and commercial center. The majority of them are panoramic images, with the church as the central point.

In turn, the group of 10 images on display in the Church brings together the only existing photographs of the moment in 1958 when the bell was blessed and replaced in the tower, after having been repaired.

Helena Rodrigues, the photographer's daughter, keeps the collection of negatives and photographs that her father left behind. "My father left me what was left, because at one point he threw away a lot of negatives," laments his daughter, who is also an archivist by profession.

Rosa Palma, Mayor of Silves, made a point of thanking Mr. Rodrigues' daughter and the rest of his family for making the photographic collection available.

But he added that "the exhibition also stretched out a leg beyond this Exhibition Center, to the Church, thanks to the Priest who accepted this idea so well from the very beginning».

Talking to the Sul Informação moments before the official opening of the exhibition, which was part of the Silves Municipal Holiday celebrations, Helena Rodrigues recalled the “privilege” she had, having “witnessed, at the age of four, the magic of having a white piece of paper in front of her, held in place with a clothes peg on a string and then starting to see the images appear, after development”.

José Guerreiro Rodrigues' interest in photography began during his military service and stayed with him throughout his life. Self-taught, he read, bought photographic equipment and chemicals to develop his photographs at home, in a “dark room with red light”, which his daughter still remembers well. There he experimented with techniques for developing, printing and fixing the images captured with his camera.

“My father bought all the equipment and would try and experiment to develop and fix the images and all that. It was fun for him,” recalls Helena Rodrigues.

In essence, he created a laboratory of “true magic” at home, where many of the first images of Alcantarilha appeared, in the 50s and 60s of the XNUMXth century.

“He was always experimenting. And he was always buying more machines, more devices and other little things. And he did everything very discreetly. No one had any idea what was going on in that dark room, with that little red light in the middle. He did his things with great curiosity. It was truly an amazing act of magic. I think the most correct word is to classify everything that happened in that little space, in that dark room, as magic,” his daughter recalled, moved.

José Guerreiro Rodrigues, simply known as Mr. Rodrigues, was indeed a multifaceted man.

In the «Typed Memoirs», which he wrote for his grandson – also present at the opening of the exhibition –, he described himself as having been born «on November 29, 1921, in Alcantarilha, about 50 meters from the Parish Church», being «a boy who had blue eyes and smiled little, as shown in a youthful photograph».

After his military service, in 1945, he began his commercial activity in his hometown, opening a shop that sold fabrics, haberdashery, groceries, glassware, newspapers and magazines. According to some of the people present at the opening of the exhibition, it was “the most important shop in Alcantarilha”.

Later, thanks to his entrepreneurial spirit, he expanded into new areas, becoming a salesman and representative for Gazcidla and also selling related equipment, such as stoves and water heaters.

He also became a correspondent for banks and insurance companies, thus supporting the economic vitality that Alcantarilha had at the time, before the tree tourism has transferred (almost) everything to the coast.

In fact, he would also take advantage of the growth in tourist activity brought about by the opening of the Airport in Faro, which took place in 1965. Three years later, he created a taxi service in the village, which he would maintain until 1996.

In terms of official duties, he was responsible for the Civil Registry Office in Alcantarilha, as well as representing the Parish Council. He was part of the Municipal Council of Parish Councils of the Silves Council, from 1960 to 1975.

It was in these roles that he created the conditions for the installation of a GNR station in Alcantarilha, in 1968.

After the 25th of April 1974, he joined the Administrative Committee of the Parish Council of his hometown.

After a full and productive life, he passed away in 2012, at the age of 90. But he left not only an important collection of negatives and photographs, but also good impressions in the memories of many people.

One of them is Carlos Patrício, president of ALDEPA, the dynamic Association for the Defence of the Cultural and Natural Heritage of Alcantarilha. “I knew Mr Rodrigues very well, because he was my godfather and I called him Godfather.”

Expressing his joy at seeing “the house full” of interested people, Carlos Patrício announced that, from the estate of the late photographer, “we selected around 200 photographs, which will be presented later, in relation to other themes and in other exhibitions”.

This was confirmed by the Sul Informação by Maria José Gonçalves, director of the Silves Archaeology Museum, who added that these new exhibitions «are already being thought about».

The exhibition, on display at the Alcantarilha Exhibition Center until December 31, is organized by ALDEPA, an association of which Helena Rodrigues is a founding member and secretary of the board.

“There are many thematic cycles that will take place. We will continue to contribute to the history of the municipality and to the history of Alcantarilha”, assured the photographer’s daughter.

Or, as Mayor Rosa Palma concluded: “the magic continues”.

Photos: Elisabete Rodrigues | Sul Informação

In the main church

Alcantarilha Exhibition Center